HotIgneous Intruder:How soon we forget that Abraham Lincoln was a republican and the solid southern democrats were the party opposed to the abolition of slavery. The solid democratic south has been triangulated into oblivion and now it the GOPers who have taken the democrats' place in the flaming lynch mob. Xenophobia is nothing new in this country, as illustrated by the Know Nothing Party, which mainly existed in soon-to-be confederate states before the Civil War.

I think the GOPers are the new Know Nothings.

As has already been mentioned a lot in this thread, the people who were Democrats in the wake of the Civil War changed parties. They were known as the Dixiecrats, and the Dixiescrats changed parties after Civil Rights. They swelled the ranks of the GOP during the period between 1968 to 1980, largely in response to the Republican Party's southern strategy. No one is forgetting the were Democrat. It's just that they are now Republicans. And members of the Tea Party.

Weigard:Dwight_Yeast: Carpet bombing and the assassination of the Walton and Tyson families would be go for Arkansas.

Arkansas homes don't have carpets.

All the more reason we should bomb them with carpets.

doyner:One thing we do have over most of the rest of y'all is the basic civility not to insult people to their face. It's called manners.

I'm sorry, but Little Rock is one of the most depressing places I've ever been (and I live next to New Jersey!). I can't put my finger on what's wrong with the town, exactly, but if I ever pass through there again, I'm not even stopping to pee.

/I'm sure there are parts of Northern Arkansas that are staggeringly beautiful.

Infernalist:It should be noted that the Electoral College was created by the Founding Fathers because they rightfully understood that most of the general population is/was painfully uneducated and ignorant and they didn't trust a tyranny of the masses.

i believe that was the reason that the senate was originally chosen by state legislatures. the house was for the common rabble, the senate for the elites. sort of like the house of lords.

FlashHarry:Infernalist: It should be noted that the Electoral College was created by the Founding Fathers because they rightfully understood that most of the general population is/was painfully uneducated and ignorant and they didn't trust a tyranny of the masses.

i believe that was the reason that the senate was originally chosen by state legislatures. the house was for the common rabble, the senate for the elites. sort of like the house of lords.

The basic reason for both things, the reason we're a republic, not a democracy is that the Founding Fathers had all read Plato's Republic (and Greek history) and understood the dangers of the tyranny of the majority.

skipjack:doyner: skipjack: I live in the same area as you and it's no more dangerous to be a liberal than it is to be a conservative. But that doesn't sell your ridiculous brand of idiocy and martyrdom.

Bless your heart.

I like Tennessee. I've lived up north, out west and I like the South and it's people. Nothing like the cold blank stare of a northerner when you say hello.

You have never been to Chicago. The day after I moved there, there was a blizzard. In March. I was walking from a convenience store to my temporary housing downtown when a cab pulled up along me. I waved him on explaining that I had no cash. He said, "Lady, it's a blizzard. Just get in the cab, I'll take you where you need to go." Never experienced anything like that in the south, certainly not in Nashville or Houston. If you stop and ask for directions in Chicago, half-a-dozen people will gather around trying to help you. Sure, you'll get half-a-dozen different directions, but everyone will try to help.

you wouldn't know that when living here. by all the measures of the south that are repugnant LA is right up there. fundie religion is schools? check. confederate battle flags? check. truck nuts? check. proud of your ignorance? check.

now i live here and like it but is in spite of not because of the above.

FlashHarry:Infernalist: It should be noted that the Electoral College was created by the Founding Fathers because they rightfully understood that most of the general population is/was painfully uneducated and ignorant and they didn't trust a tyranny of the masses.

i believe that was the reason that the senate was originally chosen by state legislatures. the house was for the common rabble, the senate for the elites. sort of like the house of lords.

You're all forgetting that the original intent of the Electoral College was to choose a president. They had no idea that the system would evolve to what it is today. Although the foundation of political parties (or 'factions') had been laid, they were not yet a reality. When you voted in a presidential election, it was for electors that were not bound to anyone to choose a president. That system worked up until the two party system emerged and the electors became bound to a certain candidate instead of having freedom to vote for whomever they chose..

DeaH:skipjack: doyner: skipjack: I live in the same area as you and it's no more dangerous to be a liberal than it is to be a conservative. But that doesn't sell your ridiculous brand of idiocy and martyrdom.

Bless your heart.

I like Tennessee. I've lived up north, out west and I like the South and it's people. Nothing like the cold blank stare of a northerner when you say hello.

You have never been to Chicago. The day after I moved there, there was a blizzard. In March. I was walking from a convenience store to my temporary housing downtown when a cab pulled up along me. I waved him on explaining that I had no cash. He said, "Lady, it's a blizzard. Just get in the cab, I'll take you where you need to go." Never experienced anything like that in the south, certainly not in Nashville or Houston. If you stop and ask for directions in Chicago, half-a-dozen people will gather around trying to help you. Sure, you'll get half-a-dozen different directions, but everyone will try to help.

That's Midwest hospitality for you. :)

It's like Southern hospitality but without all the veiled condescension.

Eh, once you get farther north in the state, it is. South Louisiana is its own republic in many ways, and definitely has nothing in common with MS, AL, GA, etc.

But the reason I mention LA is that this is the state that once produced one of history's most powerful progressives, Huey Long. In those days, poor white people actually voted for the guy who was best positioned to help them. This trend continued through the Edwin Edwards years (another slimy bastard, but a true populist Democrat).

Now? Sheeeit. Unless you live in New Orleans (liberal almost to the point of hilarity) this place is all about the flags and the Jesus. Our volcano-hating governor just pushed through a voucher program that gives tax dollars to Christian schools that aren't vetted by the same public school standard (as a side note, when a Muslim school applied for these monies, several representatives had apoplectic fits). At the state level the Democratic party is considered neutered and irrelevant. As long as the GOP fights with wedge issue rhetoric and not ideas, Louisiana will never be blue again despite a rich history of being so.

It's like Southern hospitality but without all the veiled condescension.

Well said. Just the other day I was in a thread b*tching about the myth of Southern 'hospitality.' I'd rather you just say nothing at all then flash me a perfunctory, meaningless smile before talking sh*t about me behind my back.

As for the Midwest, I really can't recall meeting any assholes from that part of the country, except Bears fans.

/has this guy's face committed to memory so that if by some chance I run into him the next time I'm in Chicago, I can be certain I'm the right guy in the nuts

doyner:I'll buy the premise of the article when a Democrat wins MS and AL for the presidency.

the south is still solidly republican. it fits right in with being the ignorant, bible thumping, racists they are. the South and the GOP are two peas in a pod.

only Southerns are dumb enough to vote TWICE for george bush jr and then turn around after his nightmare presidency and vote for his white haired twin John McStain in 2008. they are, as a group, dumb as dirt.

Dwight_Yeast:The basic reason for both things, the reason we're a republic, not a democracy is that the Founding Fathers had all read Plato's Republic (and Greek history) and understood the dangers of the tyranny of the majority.

exactly. it's amazing how well it worked - at least until 1994, anyway. i'm not sure any document could account for the modern republican party and its atwater/rove bullshiat.

Mrtraveler01:dickfreckle: Unless you live in New Orleans (liberal almost to the point of hilarity) this place is all about the flags and the Jesus.

It's amazing how fast it switches to all of that once you cross into Jefferson/St. Tammany/St. Bernard Parrishes.

Yeah, but that's typical of nearly any city in any part of America. The suburbs are where conservative white people tend to gather. I don't mean that there aren't plenty of Democrats out there as well (there are). But as a rule we "urban-dwelling elites" tend to gather one place while obsolete honkies (I can say that 'cos I'm white) gather in their own communities.

I've been to about a million cookie cutter suburbs and they're all basically the same, excepting perhaps the Bay Area and other obvious places. But suburban New Jersey has just as many flag-pimping jingoists as Jefferson Parish does.

FlashHarry:Dwight_Yeast: The basic reason for both things, the reason we're a republic, not a democracy is that the Founding Fathers had all read Plato's Republic (and Greek history) and understood the dangers of the tyranny of the majority.

exactly. it's amazing how well it worked - at least until 1994, anyway. i'm not sure any document could account for the modern republican party and its atwater/rove bullshiat.

i guess the tyranny of the minority is ok, right? that is why it takes 60 out of 100 senators to pass a bill. that gives the 40 senators (a minority) the power to pass or not pass the bill.

a majority used to be 51 out of 100. now its 60 out of 100. that allows the minority to control the passage of a bill. and the wealthy in this Nation is a minority.

Is it me or does "Solid South" sound like a euphenism for taking a duece

Solidly full of sh*t. that's the South. those f*ckers miss the good ole' days when they owned slaves. they're broke, many of them, yet they vote for the republicans who f*ck them in the ass every chance they get.

Linux_Yes:the South thinks FOX News is a trustworthy news source that gives them the straight facts. they think Hanjob Hannity (mr high school graduate) is a Journalist.

that is how dumb the South as a whole is.

Dude, you act as though the South is the sole repository of idiots in this country. We have a higher concentration of them, yes. But the rest of America isn't too far behind. Some of the most gaping assholes of the Teatard movement in elected positions in New York, Arizona, etc. Do I even need to bring up Michelle Bachmann's district voting for her again and again, no matter what public derpdown she has?

Look, I get that it's popular to hate on the South, and that some people use it a means to feel better about their own neighborhoods. But I say to all of you - maybe clean up your own back yard first.

FlashHarry:Dwight_Yeast: The basic reason for both things, the reason we're a republic, not a democracy is that the Founding Fathers had all read Plato's Republic (and Greek history) and understood the dangers of the tyranny of the majority.

exactly. it's amazing how well it worked - at least until 1994, anyway. i'm not sure any document could account for the modern republican party and its atwater/rove bullshiat.

I would argue that part of the problem is that we don't expect most high school and/or college students to read the Republic any more.

dickfreckle:Linux_Yes: the South thinks FOX News is a trustworthy news source that gives them the straight facts. they think Hanjob Hannity (mr high school graduate) is a Journalist.

that is how dumb the South as a whole is.

Dude, you act as though the South is the sole repository of idiots in this country. We have a higher concentration of them, yes. But the rest of America isn't too far behind. Some of the most gaping assholes of the Teatard movement in elected positions in New York, Arizona, etc. Do I even need to bring up Michelle Bachmann's district voting for her again and again, no matter what public derpdown she has?

Look, I get that it's popular to hate on the South, and that some people use it a means to feel better about their own neighborhoods. But I say to all of you - maybe clean up your own back yard first.

good point. i know i'm inclined to piss on the South more. i spent most of my life in the south and i just resented how they could vote the way they vote. its amazing since they are some of the poorest people in the Union.

but yes, the Nation is full of idiots north and south, east and west. and hawaii too.

I went to college in South Carolina. "Heritage, Not Hate" was a really big bumper sticker fad at the time (probably still is). One night I thought of the idea for my own bumper sticker, "It's Your Heritage I Hate."

Anyway, I genuinely thought about having some printed, but then figured it would just result in people getting beat up or shot at. At the very least their cars would be vandalized. Hell, we see that just for having the audacity of sporting an Obama/Biden sticker.

Amusing and ironic, as the (self-professed) REBELS who attacked Fort Sumner were the terrorists in that fracas.

Also it means we must watch our for terrorists infiltrating the government, getting the majority needed to pass laws, and then put forward bills to outlaw slavery; if terrorists have used that method once, they are likely to try it again at some point in the future.

Jaicu:skipjack: GAT_00: doyner: GAT_00: ....... You don't have to tell me about how dangerous it is to be a liberal in the South.

I live in the same area as you and it's no more dangerous to be a liberal than it is to be a conservative. But that doesn't sell your ridiculous brand of idiocy and martyrdom.

Give me a flying leaping freaking break.Your area, Nashville, is the homeland of Bob Corker, and is not the same 'area' as Knoxville' where know-it-all Gat lives, he is talkative, hardly an idiotic martyr ... you must be jealous of his popularity.

Nor in your wildest is Nashville a dangerous place for a conservative, for crying out loud. Unless you mean longhair who prefer classical music. I'd be in peril their either way. Never go there. It's creepy. Like Dalls.

And don't start claiming you're in 'the same area as' Chattanooga, my fair city. If you come anywhere close you'll feel the warmth of how much we prefer you to stay in your rolling hills of horse country.However, let us remember we do not live in Alabama.

Hey, I used to live in Alabama too. Huntsville, though that's a pretty moderate town. Well, was, it's going hard right in the last couple of years.

And yes, I do live in Knoxville. And while I don't consider myself in extreme danger, the only terrorist attack I can point to, unless of course you want to claim the Y-12 break-in as one, that has occurred near my home was a Fox News loving, Bill O'Reilly book buying conservative who went into a church with the specific goal of killing liberals.

That's a specific threat. I think it would be naive to pretend that there are not people near my home who would consider killing me for being a liberal.

Mrtraveler01:beta_plus: Well, if you have millions of Yankees moving to the south who vote for the policies that caused them to leave the north

You could vote for cold weather?

See, that's the #1 reason I can't live anywhere but the South or Southwest. I farking despise cold weather. I mean with a passion, man. I'm like a weather p*ssy. 58 degrees? Better set up camp for the night and drink my own piss.

The North has some of the greatest cities and attractions of all time, but you're never dragging my ass up there for longer than a month or so at a time. Preferably in July.

dickfreckle:Mrtraveler01: beta_plus: Well, if you have millions of Yankees moving to the south who vote for the policies that caused them to leave the north

You could vote for cold weather?

See, that's the #1 reason I can't live anywhere but the South or Southwest. I farking despise cold weather. I mean with a passion, man. I'm like a weather p*ssy. 58 degrees? Better set up camp for the night and drink my own piss.

The North has some of the greatest cities and attractions of all time, but you're never dragging my ass up there for longer than a month or so at a time. Preferably in July.

I went to college in South Carolina. "Heritage, Not Hate" was a really big bumper sticker fad at the time (probably still is). One night I thought of the idea for my own bumper sticker, "It's Your Heritage I Hate."

Anyway, I genuinely thought about having some printed, but then figured it would just result in people getting beat up or shot at. At the very least their cars would be vandalized. Hell, we see that just for having the audacity of sporting an Obama/Biden sticker.